Once walking down the Strand I looked through the peephole to a building site and there in the uncovered foundations was the entrance to an underground WWII shelter, I guessed it must lead to The Savoy, a small tantalising glimpse into its wartime history so well described here. The wartime secrets reveal crime and insurrection, royalty and celebrity, prostitutes and politicians, spies and military leaders. I know that Matthew Sweet has been criticised for including so many strands and characters in his but for me this made the book - I would read anything by Matthew Sweet, he has a unique style and in seeking out the people who can help flesh out his story, adds tremendously to the narrative providing detail and facts that most writers would surely miss.
Like for Like Reading
How We Lived Then, A History of Everyday Life during the Second World War, Norman Longmate, Paperback 592 pages Pimlico 4th July 2002 9780712668323
Inventing the Victorians, Matthew Sweet
| Primary Genre | Biographies & Autobiographies |
| Other Genres: |
Spies: Meet Marie-Jacqueline Lancaster, the woman from M15 who has the gravy browning licked from her legs by Dylan Thomas.
Royals: Meet Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, born in a suite at Claridge's that was declared Yugoslav territory for the night.
Players: Meet Joyce Stone, whose husband leads the band at the Dorchester, keeping dancers foxtrotting even as the shudders of bombardments penetrate the sound-proofed walls of the hotel.
West End Front is a witty and eye-opening account of the extraordinary events that unfolded under the reinforced ceilings of London's grand hotels.
The West End Front : The Wartime Secrets of London's Grand Hotels features in the following genres: Biographies & Autobiographies, History, Biography, Literature and Literary studies, History and Archaeology
The West End Front : The Wartime Secrets of London's Grand Hotels is available in Paperback
The West End Front : The Wartime Secrets of London's Grand Hotels was written by Matthew Sweet and published by Faber and Faber
The West End Front : The Wartime Secrets of London's Grand Hotels has 362 pages
£13.49
